Drunk Girl
by argentenipinkini
Summary: Noel is absolutely infatuated with Casey but she has feelings for someone else and sadly, he's just her good friend. The two decide to go to a party. A bit Noel centric, but it's the pairing that everyone loves...*Two-Shot*
1. Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own the show _Life __With__ Derek_, but I wish I did!

A/N: So, here is part one of my two-shot entitled as you can see: _Drunk Girl_. It is loosely based on the wonderfully sad song by _Something Corporate_, one of my favorite bands ever. I'm deeply sorry for all the mistakes you'll find. I actually considered getting a beta for this, but then I didn't want to wait and wasn't sure how long it would take for me to find one. Anyways, here it is, mistakes and all. I hope you enjoy it. And also, the second part and the conclusion shall be up soon. Tell me what you think! I hope you enjoy the cameos! Oh, and sorry that the summary is so vague, hehe.

**-D****runk Girl****-** Part One—_Casey's Bedroom, the Living Room and t__he Party_

"Wow, _Case_," said Vicky in a sickeningly sweet, but totally fake sounding voice, "this is actually a really cute dress."

She was in Casey's room, standing in her closet, holding the light green taffeta dress up to her body and checking herself out in the wall mirror that hung on the closet door. She examined the strapless, just past the knees dress from all different angles and smirked at her reflection.

"Yeah? I like it," said Casey tersely, rolling her eyes. She turned the page of the fashion magazine she was reading quickly and almost ripped it.

"It's really pretty," continued Vicky. "Different than almost anything else you own. You don't own a single green thing it would seem. Just overloads of pink and purple. Except for this." She continued to admire it in the mirror.

"It's actually called 'fresh aloe,'" Casey corrected, tossing her magazine aside and getting up from her bed.

She had her hair up in a high ponytail and was wearing a cami and sweatpants. Her face was completely bare of makeup and she tried to hide her annoyed expression as she swiftly took the dress away from her cousin Vicky—Victoria's hands. She immediately went to go put it back into her closet but Vicky stopped her when she grabbed her elbow.

"Come on, Case. Let me wear it tonight?" she asked excitedly, hopping up and down a little. "It's the perfect dress for me to wear to the party. No guy will be able to resist me."

Casey didn't even pause to contemplate her answer.

"I'd rather you not, actually."

Vicky pouted, sticking out her ruby red lip glossed lips.

"Why not?"

"Because."

She didn't want to tell her that she had been saving that dress specifically for a special occasion, that the dress had a certain sentimental hold on her. She hadn't worn it out yet, but she knew it looked gorgeous on her and the thought of having to share it with Vicky almost made her want to gag. It was _her_ dress.

"Well why not? It's not like _you're_ going to the party."

"That doesn't matter. It's my dress and I want to be the first one to wear it out." She stared defiantly at her cousin and they both didn't even flinch.

"_Fine_, I guess. Have it your way. It probably would have been too big anyways."

"Yeah, because I have bigger boobs than you," said Casey quietly as placed the green dress back into her closet. Then, she turned away and went back to her bed, lying on her belly and flipping open _Vogue_ once more.

Vicky crossed her arms across her chest self consciously and frowned at Casey once more.

"_Hey_," she said, offended. "I'm a _C_-cup."

Casey looked up at Vicky and laughed.

"Who are you trying to kid, Vic? You're a B-cup and you know it. _I'm_ a C-cup."

Casey giggled after she said it and started to read an article on Rachel McAdams, the cover girl. Vicky just stomped her foot agitatedly.

"Well, whatever. I'm a big B-cup," she practically huffed.

Casey just grinned happily from her place on her bed.

"I don't even understand why you're not coming to the party with me and Derek," Vicky said, changing the subject quickly. "You _know_ it's going to be fun."

Without even looking up from her article, she answered, "I _know_ it's going to be a bunch of drunken, hormonal teenagers all in one room, trashing some poor girl's house and doing a bunch of other disgusting things that I'd rather not have to witness and be a part of."

"So, what's the problem?" Vicky asked, walking back into Casey's closet, hoping to find something else to wear.

"I'm just not really into that thing, Vicky."

"There's got to be another reason."

"There isn't"

"I don't believe you."

Casey sighed, resigned.

"Well, if you really _must_ know, Noel was planning on coming over later and we were going to watch a movie and eat popcorn. So, I already have plans. But even if I didn't I wouldn't choose to go to the party."

Suddenly, Vicky was out of the closet and at the foot of Casey's bed.

"And who is this Noel you speak of? A new boyfriend? _Casey_," she clucked, "you held out on me. You told me you weren't going out with anyone!"

Casey laughed at Vicky's reaction and sat up.

"Calm down, Vicky. I wasn't keeping anything from you. Noel is just a friend; one of my good friends, really. He was my costar in the play I did last fall. You _would_ have seen him if you had bothered coming that night I invited you." Vicky had the decency to look flustered.

"I'm sorry, Case. I had a date that night. Zac Michaels, _so_ hot, you know how it is," she spoke quickly. Casey nodded understandingly and refrained from rolling her eyes.

"And how is Zac Michaels right now?"

"I don't know," Vicky said waving her right hand dismissively. "Last I heard he was dating some bleached blonde sophomore with bigger breasts than both of us and zero brains to fit into her teeny tiny head." They both wrinkled their noses in distaste.

"Well, _that_ sucks."

"Not that much. I got to make out with him before he lost his mind and started dating _her_." They shared a big smile and Casey went back reading. Vicky, however, wasn't quite finished with their conversation.

"So Noel's coming over and you're just going to watch a movie and let me guess, he's super cute, right?" Casey laughed at her cousin once more and then sighed. She knew she wasn't going to get through her article with Vicky in her room. She put her magazine down again and sat up once more. Vicky smiled victoriously and perched on the end of Casey's bed with her.

"Actually, he really is pretty adorable; in a really funny, awkward kind of way."

"So wait, in your play, did you kiss him?"

"Yeah!" They both giggled. It had been a while since they had bonded so much and Casey didn't mind it too much. It was nice having another girl her age around the house, even if it was just for the three day weekend ahead.

"And, was he a good kisser?" Vicky demanded.

"Not bad at all," Casey admitted sheepishly, a small smile on her face. "But, of course I was dating Max at the time so I didn't get to enjoy it quite as much as I might, let's say, now." Vicky laughed.

"So, do you like him?" That's when Casey turned her face serious.

"To be honest?" Vicky nodded enthusiastically. "Not really."

"What? Come one, don't lie to me!"

"I'm really not lying. I think of him only as a friend."

"But he sounds hot!"

"Well yeah, he's good looking and everything but I'm just not—"

"You like someone else, don't you?" Vicky cut her off quickly, determined to get all the answers.

"What? No!" said Casey, but she was blushing.

"Okay, _now_ you're lying to me," she accused.

"I'm really not. I don't like someone else." She tried to keep her face from betraying herself again. It worked. She didn't blush.

"Then why don't you like Noel?"

"Because he's my friend!"

"Casey, he's skipping what Derek tells me is going to be one of the biggest parties of the school year to sit in your living room and hang out with you. It kind of sounds like he likes you."

"How would you even know that? You don't _know_ him. You can't just know that he likes me."

"Well, he probably does. I mean, come on. You're…pretty."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, I'm serious. You have to admit. The girls in our family are _hot_. Lizzie's what, like, fourteen now? She's turning out quite well. And me and you?" She pointed at them with her French-manicured nails. "We're knock-outs."

"You're so modest."

"No, you're _too_ modest. I'm honest." She smiled widely for Casey. Casey threw a pillow at her head.

"So, tell me more about your secret crush."

"I'd really rather not."

"Ooh, so you admit that you have one?"

"I just don't want to talk about it."

"And you're sure you and Noel won't show up to the party?"

"Probably not."

"But you'll consider it?"

"May…be," Casey said slowly, dragging out the word. Vicky grinned triumphantly.

"That's all I ask. I mean. It should be fun. Derek says that the whole hockey team is going to be there, not to mention some of the other sports teams."

"Ugh, that means Max might be there with his new girlfriend."

"Does that bother you?"

Casey thought about it.

"No, not really."

"Because you like Noel?" Vicky guessed.

"Vicky, no! I told you, he's just a friend. How many times to do I have to repeat myself?"

"Jeez, I'm sorry. It's just that you like some guy and you and this Noel have some sort of date tonight and you won't tell me who the crush is and it sounds like Noel likes you, so I can only assume that maybe you like him, too?"

"Did you always talk this much? And this _fast_?"

"I'm insightful. I have a lot to say." Casey considered this but then decided not to comment on her cousin's statement.

"But you're wrong," she said instead. "And it's not a date. We hang out all the time now. Like I told you, he's one of my best friends. And I like it. It's nice having a good guy friend."

"Oh, Casey. You're so in denial. Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he's not just waiting for you to let him make a move."

"Look, it's just not like that." She was getting really frustrated now and rubbed her temples to try and clear her head. "Noel and I just have a lot in common. And we have fun hanging out. More fun than we would have going to that party."

"Oh, I don't doubt that, but I have a feeling you just might cave and come later on."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because you won't be able to get my beautiful voice out of your head, just asking you over and over again to come, please _come_. Plus, you have a totally hot dress in your closet that's just _dying_ to be worn."

"Is hot like your word of the day or something?"

"Nah, I just like to use it. It's a very versatile adjective to express my likes." Casey just shook her head.

"Right, okay."

Vicky got up off of the bed and headed for the closet once more. She came out a minute later with a short purple dress.

"How do you think this will look?" Casey tilted her head and considered it.

"I think you just might be able to fill that one out nicely." Vicky stuck her tongue out at Casey and went back into the closet, this time searching for some shoes.

"At least we have the same size shoe. That's pretty helpful."

"Yup," answered Casey, distracted. She was thinking about her "fresh aloe" colored dress just hanging there in her closet, waiting to be worn out.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

An hour later, Casey was alone in the house, waiting for Noel to arrive. The younger kids were all out for the night, and so were George and Nora. They were all expected back the next day, so Derek, Casey and Vicky basically had the house to themselves.

Casey had brought up the subject of Derek to Vicky as her cousin got ready for the party. She had settled with the lilac colored dress and matching velvet flats.

"What do you mean is it _awk_ward?"

"Well, I mean, I'm just curious. The last time you were here, your mother was getting married and you were making out with Derek. Now you guys are hanging out like nothing happened and you're just friends?"

"Hey, that was a onetime thing," Vicky pointed out. "And we're not really hanging out. I'm hanging out with _you_, aren't I?"

"Okay, fine, but you don't mind seeing him even though he never called you?"

"Casey. I knew he wasn't going to call."

"Then why did you kiss him?"

"Because he looked like he'd be a good kisser." Casey just looked at her. "And he _was_, if you were wondering which I can tell you were from your look."

"I wasn't."

Vicky raised her eyebrows.

"_Sure_ you weren't."

"Okay, so it's not awkward, that's good," Casey said, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Yeah. And it's not like we're going to the party _together_. He's just my ride."

"But you don't know anyone there besides him."

"I'll know you."

"I'm not going."

"Oh, you will," she said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I already told you."

"You really think I'm going to hear your voice in my head and it's going to convince me to go to this party?"

"Yup." She nodded for effect. Casey shook her head.

"Whatever. I need to get changed. Noel's going to be here soon."

Now, Casey was just sitting on the couch and she was seriously contemplating her night. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad if she and Noel showed up at the party. The same party that the two of them had scoffed at the idea of attending just days before when they had first made plans to hang out.

"It might be fun," she said to herself. And then the doorbell rang.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Somehow when Noel got to her house, she convinced him that maybe the party wouldn't be too bad, and he actually agreed. She was surprised by how little it took to get him to change their plans, but was also pleased that he wasn't making a big deal about it and actually seemed a little excited.

So now, she was up in her bedroom changing her outfit and pampering herself so that she looked just right for a weekend party. Noel waited patiently for her downstairs on the couch.

When he arrived at the Venturi-MacDonald household that night, his face had visibly brightened when Casey opened the door, he was that happy to see her. And when she suggested the party, how could he object? He was actually pretty pumped because they would be going together and it would sort of be like they were going on a date. At least, they'd show up together and maybe _some_ people would think that they were together.

He of course knew that Casey didn't feel for him the same way that he felt for her and, he was okay with that. He knew that one day she'd realize that he existed, that he was the perfect guy for her and then he would sweep her off her feet and kiss her senseless. He would wait for that day, patiently like he waited for her right now.

After being gone for a full fifteen minutes, Casey ascended the stairs quickly and Noel had to remind himself to breathe because she looked so beautiful. She was wearing a light green shimmery dress. It was strapless and just covered her knees. She was also wearing some silver round toed pumps that made her about four inches taller and accentuated her dancer's legs even more. He couldn't stop himself from staring at her.

"You look really nice," he managed and Casey seemed to really enjoy his comment. She smiled modestly and put on a light sweater.

"Aww, thanks," she said and headed for the door. "You ready?" she asked. He held up his keys.

"Ready."

And so they left.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

When they got to the party, it was already in full swing and so crowded that it was hard to recognize any of the people in the crowd.

"My cousin Vicky should be here somewhere," Casey told him, searching the crowd in vain. There was almost no chance that she'd find her, and Noel didn't have the heart to tell her so.

"Oh yeah?" he said instead. "I remember you mentioning that she'd be visiting. I haven't met her yet, I think."

"No, you haven't. But you will, I'm sure."

"Right."

A half hour later they were admittedly having a pretty good time. They were both sipping sodas and lounging on the couch in the living room of the house. It was fun for them to observe the drunken teenagers that were their classmates.

"It's crazy that we're all going to be seniors and then going off to University," said Casey conversationally. Noel nodded.

"Yeah, but look at us now." He motioned to the party in front of them.

They both watched amusedly as Ryan, "the Fridge" in Casey head, toppled face forward on to the floor just a few feet in front of them. It was pretty hilarious despite the complete ridiculousness of the situation and they both couldn't help but laugh. He stayed down on the floor and people stepped over him as they walked by. He appeared to be in a drunken stupor.

"Wow, crazy," said Noel and Casey just grinned at him. She was so happy to have found a friend that had the same morals as her. They both didn't need to drink alcohol to have fun.

"I wonder where Emily is," Casey pondered next.

"Once again, I think it's just going to be you and me tonight. Unless she just stumbles across us…" he said slowly as Emily appeared out of nowhere and jumped into the small space in between them on the couch. Casey laughed and immediately stood up. She didn't want to ruin her dress.

"Casey! You look pretty!" shouted Emily. She was obviously a bit tipsy. Casey knew she wasn't drunk though. "And Noel! You look good, too." Noel blushed and looked down at his blue polo.

"Thanks, I guess, Emily."

"Oh, no problem." Then she turned her attention to her best friend.

"Casey," she said in a serious, accusatory tone, "I thought you said you weren't coming. We could have come together."

"Oh yeah. Well, I changed my mind. I hope you don't mind." Emily just grinned in response.

"Nah, I'm glad you came!" she shouted again and then she was standing up again and hugging Casey. And just as suddenly as she had appeared, she was swept up in the crowd and gone.

"Well, that was interesting," Noel said. Casey nodded and sat back down next to him. They started to talk some more about their surroundings and then about ten minutes later Noel pointed to her empty root beer can. "Do you want me to get another one?" he asked her sweetly.

"Yeah, sure!" she answered, handing him her empty can. He took it and then stood up.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Oh, I won't, but are you sure _you'll_ be able to make it back here?"

He grinned.

"I'll manage."

And then she was left alone.

A minute later, she caught a glimpse of a familiar reddish-brown head. The same head of hair that belonged to her step-brother Derek, the same guy that occupied most of her dreams at night and filled up her thoughts when she wasn't too busy doing other things like homework, chores and school in general.

She watched him for a moment and he seemed to be having a lot of fun. And he looked _really_ good. He was wearing a brown button down shirt and dark blue jeans that hugged his body in all the right places.

She sighed and tilted her head, wishing for maybe the millionth time that her little crush on him would disappear. It was just _weird_ and unnatural that she should be so attracted to him. He annoyed the hell out of her…yet, for some odd reason, she enjoyed the fact that he seemed to waste so much of his time on her. Plus, she had to admit that there were certain times when she was sure that maybe, just maybe he felt the same way about her…

As she continued to watch him, she noticed a short little blonde girl walk up towards him and then for the next five minutes, watched painfully as Derek shamelessly flirted with her. Casey vaguely recalled that the girl was the host of the party. As she watched them, for some reason she couldn't take her eyes off of them, she wondered where Noel was. If he would just hurry up and make his way back to her, then maybe he would be able to distract her enough so that she wouldn't have to see Derek pick up another one of his conquests.

Finally, after being away for more than ten minutes, Noel was back. Casey breathed in a sigh of relief and took the soda can that he offered her. She immediately turned her attention to her friend, immensely happy that he was back. She didn't think she could stand one more minute alone, torturing herself by keeping her eyes glued to Derek's back.

Noel struck up some casual conversation about why it took him so long to get back.

"It took me forever to find anything that wasn't beer or hard liquor. This place is really stocked up. I'm surprised I even found these," he said, pointing to their drinks. Casey smiled at him graciously and he smiled back.

They started to talk about the absurd rap song that was playing loudly all around the house and how it sounded more like noise than actual music, and that's when Noel asked her, all the while trying not to laugh, if she wanted to dance. Casey stared at him for a moment before responding. Noel willingly wanting to dance? She laughed and he let his own chuckle escape.

"You want to dance to this crap?" she asked him.

"Well, I figured we might as well do something more social here," he explained.

So, Casey accepted his hand and they walked a few feet away and started to dance. Casey tried to stifle her giggling when she saw that Noel had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He was sort of just bobbing around aimlessly, wagging his arms around in weird circles. She finally had to stop her own dancing and just laugh at him, and he didn't even care. He liked that he could make Casey laugh so hard.

As she laughed, Casey randomly turned her head in the general direction of where Derek and the blonde had previously been standing. She noticed that he was no longer there but it didn't take long for her to find him.

She watched in horror as the blonde girl lead Derek towards her and Noel, her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist. As he passed, he seemed to notice that Casey was standing there for the first time, no longer laughing or dancing, just frozen. His eyes widened a bit, he knew that she had originally boycotted the party and was not expecting to see her, but then his expression went back to an unreadable one. He didn't say anything to her and she didn't acknowledge him anymore than with a glare.

Noel just stood next to Casey and watched the exchange silently. The girl continued to take him to the foot of the stairs that were located a few feet away from the living room. As she watched them slowly climb the stairs, Casey was sure she wouldn't be seeing him again that night. That's when she decided that she didn't want to be sober anymore.

Her mood suddenly changed and she snapped. She turned away from Noel and headed in the direction of the kitchen where all the drinks were. Noel followed her clumsily, wondering what the rush was. When he reached her, she already had a beer in her hand.

"What are you doing, Case?" he asked her slowly.

"Oh, I just wanted to try one," and her tone was bubbly. "I don't really like the taste of beer, but I've never really given it a chance. Maybe if I drink this whole thing I can learn to like it."

"But Casey, you don't drink," he said flatly.

"Yeah, I know," she agreed, trying to keep her voice light, "but we're at a party. That's what you're supposed to do, right? Get drunk?"

Noel was so confused.

"But—we just spent most of the night talking about how stupid everyone here looks when they're drunk. You want to be one of them?"

"Noel, I just want to drink this beer, okay?"

"I guess…" he said uncertainly. He watched as she took a big gulp and didn't even flinch from the taste. It seemed like she was already used to bitter taste.

The drinking didn't stop there, though. Casey proceeded to try everything in her power to get completely wasted. She drank can after can of beer and even a few shots when a group of guys offered her some vodka and soda. She kept drinking and drinking, ignoring Noel's disapproving remarks and the shake of his head.

After her first two beers, she ran back into the living room and started dancing with any guy who caught her eye. She danced and drank and danced some more. She didn't even seem to be concerned with keeping her dress, the dress she had waited so long to wear, clean. Noel was sure that some of her beer had sloshed onto it a least twice.

He couldn't understand what was going on with her, what was wrong. It was like she had suddenly changed. He knew for sure that the Casey in front of him was not the Casey that he knew and was in love with.

Casey didn't listen to Noel as she drank her anger and sadness, all having to do with Derek, away. He kept asking her to stop but whenever he did, she just went and got a new drink.

When she told him that she needed to clear her head, she saw a look of relief spread across his face, but all she meant was that she didn't want to be thinking anymore. If she allowed herself to think, she would just keep picturing Derek upstairs with that girl, where they were and what they were doing and she _definitely_ didn't want to be thinking about _that_.

As she tried to make her way back to the kitchen to get more alcohol, Noel followed her, finally picking up on the fact that she wasn't done. It was a good thing he was right behind her because just before she reached the coveted room, her heeled foot caught on the end of a strategically placed rug in front of the doorway to the kitchen and she fell forward, almost nearly falling on her face. Since Noel was following her close behind, he was able to catch her before she made a show of falling over and passing out like "the Fridge".

With Casey now safe in his arms, Noel decided that he had to do something. He knew that he couldn't continue to let her drink her apparent sorrows away. He was starting to figure out that maybe it had to do something with Derek but he couldn't ask her because he knew how upset she got whenever Derek's name was brought up. When they'd first started hanging out a lot, she had even made him agree not to talk about him if at all possible. He had thought it was weird at the time, but after a while realized that Derek made Casey and angry, pissed off and annoyed Casey.

So, he had an idea that maybe Derek was behind her drunken state, especially after factoring in the brief encounter a few minutes before her first drink, but that didn't mean that he had any real clue as to why it was Derek's fault. But, at that moment in time, Noel decided that he couldn't stand Derek. He also decided that he and Casey were leaving. They were done with the party.

"Noel, put me down," she complained.

"I'll put you down when we get to my car," he said as he weaved his way through the party and to the front door.

An acquaintance of Noel and Casey's saw that he was headed for the door with Casey in his arms and graciously opened it for him.

"Thanks, man," said Noel, nodding in his direction.

"No problem," said the redheaded guy that Noel remembered as Tinker.

Tinker watched them with a somewhat worried frown as Noel walked away from the house. He was over his crush, sort of, but that didn't mean he enjoyed seeing Casey being carried away into the night by some guy that wasn't him. He closed the door with a defeated sigh.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

A/N: I hope you're enjoying this. And if anyone was wondering, the guy I made up that Vicky went on a date with? Zac Michaels? Yeah, his name is Zac Efron and Michael Seater put together because I love them. Just a little trivia for you, haha. More to come soon!


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the show _Life With Derek_, but I wish I did!

A/N: So yeahhh, sorry this took so long. I'm kind of a jerk, to put it lightly. I've just been swamped and I've had this sitting on my computer for weeks, just waiting to be edited and whatnot, and it's still not perfect, but the story's there, haha.

Oh, and I noticed only after I posted this that I spelled Vicky's name wrong. In the credits it's spelled "Vicki". But whateverrr, I'm leaving it.

So enough about nothing, on with the story!

**Drunk Girl**: Part Two—_The Car, the Lawn and the Front Door_

"_Noel_! Put me _down_. I don't want to leave yet!" Casey complained as they stumbled to Noel's car.

"Well, that's too bad, Case because we are leaving," Noel said as he reached his car and struggled to open the passenger side door with her still in his arms.

"But I didn't even get to see Vicky!"

"She's staying the weekend with you, don't worry, you'll see her again."

"But she was expecting me _here_!"

"I'm sure she won't mind."

He finally got the door to open and tried to bend forward to drop her in.

"Put me down, I can get into the car myself," she said tartly, and so he put her on her feet.

She glared at him as she got into the car and he just smiled tightly at her. He shut the door and jogged to the driver's side.

"Put your seatbelt on, please," he said sternly.

"I am, I am," she said as she tried to put her seatbelt on. It took a few tries to actually buckle herself in but she got it on the fourth try. "Gosh, you're bossy tonight," she muttered scathingly and crossed her arms at her chest.

"I'm only doing what's best for you, Casey."

"And how do you know what's best for me?" she asked him seriously, a little toned down than seconds before.

"I just…do."

He turned his engine on, started to drive and as he pulled away from the curb, Casey reached over and turned on his radio, really loud. He winced and pushed her hand away to turn the loud, annoying pop song down.

"_Noel_! I'm listening to that!"

"It's too loud. I can't concentrate."

She turned it back up.

"Well then learn to," she said defiantly.

He turned it down again.

"Casey," he said through gritted teeth, "this is my car, my volume."

Casey huffed loudly and crossed her arms across her chest again.

"_Fine_."

She blew some bangs out of her face and tried to focus on the road in front of her but it was blurry.

"You're going too fast," she told him moments later.

"Not I'm not. I'm going the speed limit."

"No, you're going too fast," she insisted. "Everything's blurry."

"Casey, that's because you've had too much to drink."

"Maybe it's because I have a major headache," she said as she rested her right hand on her forehead, seemingly choosing to ignore his words. Noel rolled his eyes.

"_Or_ that," he said agreeably, the sarcastic hint in his voice not caught by Casey.

"I think it must be that," she stated.

They didn't talk for the rest of the ride. Casey leaned her head against the window with her eyes closed and every once in a while Noel could swear he heard her mumble something, but he couldn't be completely sure. If she was saying something, she was whispering it really quietly so all he heard were incoherent statements that didn't seem to make sense to him. He thought he might have heard her say Derek's name, but really had no idea. He tried to focus on the road in front of them.

When they arrived at her empty house, he parked on the side of the road and then shut off the car, but didn't make a move to leave right away.

"Casey?" he asked her quietly, turning his body towards her. She still had her eyes closed but opened them slowly when he said her name. She smiled at him and then leaned towards him.

"Yeah?" she said and her voice was slightly husky. He gulped before speaking.

"Are you ready to go inside?"

She shook her head at him.

"Not really, no."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a minute.

"Can we just hang out in here for a bit?" she asked him. "My head really does hurt."

"Yeah, of course."

She smiled at him again and patted his shoulder twice before leaning her head back on the head rest and closing her eyes.

"Um, Case?" he asked after a short while.

She didn't open her eyes.

"Noel?"

"Are you, I mean, is everything okay?" He figured he might as well ask her.

"Yeah, yeah, every thing's great," she mumbled.

"Are you sure? Because…I kind of find that hard to believe."

That's when she opened her eyes and leaned towards him again. His breath caught in his throat when she put her left hand on his arm.

"Noel, I totally understand why you're asking me this, and seriously, I'm o_kay_. I just went a bit crazy tonight, and I know it. Trust me, I'm aware of it. I also know that it won't happen again. I was just having some _fun_!" She held out the "n" in her "fun" and he could tell that she wasn't even close to sobering up just yet even if she had sounded resolute enough at the beginning of her speech.

"But I just don't understand. Casey, you _never_ drink. It's just not like you at all."

"I know, I know, but I just wanted to try it, okay? Can you understand that?" she pleaded with him. He scratched the back of his head.

"I guess…"

She grinned widely at him and took off her seatbelt. Then, suddenly, she was leaning completely over the middle of his car and she was hugging him.

"Oh, Noel. You're such a good guy." She squeezed him tightly and he caught a deep whiff of her hair. It smelled like strawberries.

"Um, thanks?" He patted her back awkwardly, not really knowing what else to do. She didn't let go.

"You're just always here for me when I need you and I just want you to know that I really appreciate it a lot."

He really wished that she would stop hugging him already. She was making him want to kiss her. The need and want to kiss her was so strong in fact that he knew that if she didn't pull away soon he would just have to.

When she finally did move a moment later, he stared at her and she continued to grin at him. She looked so lovely to him. She was just sitting there in his car in her green dress, a color she _never_ wore, her hair was down and she was looking at him like, like he didn't really know what.

He really couldn't help what happened next. He started to lean towards her, holding out his hand as he did so.

He grazed his right hand on her cheek slowly before gently letting it rest on the side of her face. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest and he was sure that she could hear it, but she didn't say anything and she wasn't pulling away from him. Quite the opposite.

Suddenly, she closed the gap between them and her lips were crushed on his. She grabbed him almost roughly and ran her fingers through his hair, but he didn't really mind. He enjoyed the way her hands were playing around with his hair. No girl he had ever kissed had done what she was doing.

That's when it hit him. He was kissing Casey. He was kissing the girl he had been crushing on for months, the girl he believed himself in love with. And she was kissing him back, had been the one to actually start the kiss. He was amazed. He was kissing _Casey_.

Their first kiss lasted a while and when it abruptly ended, Noel was left feeling dizzy, how he assumed he would be feeling if he was drunk as well. At that moment, he had another epiphany and this one was less pleasant than the first: Casey _was_ drunk. She was drunk and he knew deep down that she probably had no idea what she was doing, who she was kissing.

So, he decided to be the gentleman and just get out of the car and walk her to her door, like he had originally been planning.

"Wait, Noel, wait. I don't want to go in yet," Casey said quietly as his hand reached for his door handle.

"Casey, I think it's a good idea for you to go to bed right about now."

"I will if you come with me," she said boldly. He blinked.

"Um—"

"You're right, that would be wrong," she cut him off even though he hadn't actually been able to say anything. She even had the decency to blush.

All Noel could do was nod his head. Then, she grabbed his left hand in both of hers unexpectedly.

"I forgot how good a kisser you are," she stated bluntly and leaned herself towards him once more, quickly getting over her embarrassment.

She pulled him into another hungry kiss and he couldn't resist her. He kissed her for what seemed like a long time and then finally found his head. He knew what he was doing was wrong.

"Casey, this is wrong. You don't know what you're doing," he whispered against her mouth. She sighed lightly and he pulled his face away from hers.

"Yes I do," she said. "Kiss me!" She grabbed him again, but not as roughly as the first time. Just as soon as their lips touched he pulled away.

"Seriously, you need to stop doing that."

"Why?" she asked, seriously confused.

"Because you have no idea how hard it is for me to push you away when you keep throwing yourself at me."

"Well why do you keep pushing me away? I obviously don't want you to."

"Actually, that part isn't that obvious. If it was obvious that you wanted to be with me so badly, I bet tonight wouldn't be our first kiss."

"Tonight _isn't_ our first kiss," she insisted.

"Technically it is."

She rubbed her head.

"You're giving me a headache."

He opened his door.

"I thought you already had one."

"Well, you're making it worse."

"You're going to have to get used to that feeling because you're going to still be feeling it tomorrow morning, no doubt," he stated grimly as he got out of the car and jogged to her side. He opened the door for her and she stepped out of the car on shaky feet.

"Why did I wear such high heels?" she asked him as he held her hand and guided her towards the front of the house.

"Because they went with your dress?" he answered dumbly.

"I guess. And I wanted to look hot."

"Oh," was all he could respond with.

"Did it work?"

"Did what work?"

"Did I look hot tonight?"

Noel gulped before answering.

"Um…"

"Jeez. Thanks." She sounded pissed off.

Noel realized that maybe that moment wasn't the right time for him to stay silent. A drunken Casey was a Casey that he really couldn't figure out so easily. She was fine one moment, mauling him the other, and then upset when he wasn't immediately praising her.

"Case, I already told you earlier that you look gorgeous."

"No, you said I looked _nice_." She said the word "nice" like it was a disease.

"Well, I lied. You look gorgeous."

"Aww, Noel that's so—" and then she tripped.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Noel, surprised. Casey had tripped over a body.

"I think that's my cousin Vicky," Casey said, standing up straight again and talking as if nothing weird had just happened.

She bent slightly to examine the girl's face. Indeed it was. Vicky was passed out on the Venturi/MacDonald lawn.

They waited for her to move. She didn't. They could tell that she was breathing, but she didn't seem to even know that she had just been tripped over.

Casey kicked her softly with one of her heeled feet.

"Vicky?" Noel called out. Nothing.

"Wow, she's even more far gone than I am," Casey said, and she was giggling.

"Should we bring her up to the house, too?"

"Nah, just leave her there," Casey said unconcernedly and started walking away and towards the steps of her house that led to the front door, still giggling lightly. Noel's eyebrows lifted high as he watched her saunter away, apparently with no cares about her passed out and clearly inebriated cousin.

"But—" he protested, slowly making his way behind her, glancing unsurely back at Vicky on the grass.

"Are you going to walk me to the door or not?" she cut him off, stopping and turning to look at him. He quickened his pace and joined Casey once more.

"I guess she must have gotten dropped off when we in the car," he said.

"Yeah, while we were making out."

Noel blushed at her frank description of their hookup but she just kept walking and didn't notice. They reached her door in seconds.

"Well this was fun," Casey said, grinning up at him. She seemed to momentarily forget how annoyed she was with him. Noel forced a smile.

"Yeah. Sort of."

"Okay well…" she started, but then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck before he realized what was going on. She pressed her face close to his, her lips half on his mouth, the other half kissing his chin. She had clearly missed her intention and knew it. She giggled some more and tried to kiss him fully on the lips, but he pushed her away from him.

"Come on, Casey. Let's not start this again."

"It's just a kiss, jeez."

"Yeah, but I know you don't mean it."

"When a girl kisses you, you should let her."

"I did. But I'm done doing that now."

"Why is this such a big deal to you?"

"Because you don't mean it!" he partially yelled, frustrated. "When you kiss me, I feel like you want to be kissing someone else. Someone that's not me."

"So what if I do?" she shouted back. His eyes widened.

"What?"

"Oh never mind," she snapped and then mumbled something he wasn't quite sure he heard correctly. "I never get what _I_ want."

Now he was really confused.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked her, the curious tone in his voice not hidden.

"What I mean is that _sometimes_, I want things to go my way, _sometimes_, I want to get what _I_ want, _when_ I want and I don't want to have to suffer in the mean time while I wait."

"And what exactly is it that you want so badly?" He knew what he wanted, and he knew what he wanted her to say, but he also knew that she didn't want the same things as him.

"It, it doesn't matter what I want anymore!" she cried. "It's impossible," she said and she was shaking. "So impossible…" she trailed off and he went to her, putting his arm on her shoulders and then slowly pulling her into a tight hug.

"Um, okay," was all he could think of to say. She laughed into his chest.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a mess."

"I really don't mind," was his reply.

"But it's really not okay. I really am falling apart and it's his entire fault." She whispered the last part.

He wanted to ignore it, ignore what she said, but he couldn't. He needed to know, once and for all.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked her softly, rubbing small circles into her back as he did so.

"It doesn't matter. As I said before, it's all impossible. Everything."

"Well, that really sucks," he said and he could have kicked himself. For some reason he couldn't seem to articulate any intelligent sentences in front of her.

She stepped out of his embrace.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." She searched around herself. "I can't remember where my keys are," she said, completely changing the subject.

"Casey, are you sure you don't want to talk some more?" he asked her in a pleading tone. He hated seeing her like this.

She ignored him and continued to search for her missing keys. Her purse was small and it didn't seem to be hiding in there so she started to search the porch for the spare key. When she finally found it she cried aloud and held it up to Noel's face in victory.

"Viola!"

"Yay," Noel said, monotonously. Then he watched as she tried to put the key in the keyhole. After a few tries she kicked the door with her heel and he heard her mumble something.

"Stupid Derek."

And then everything made sense to him. It was all so obvious. _Derek_.

The one Casey wanted was _him_, Derek. The one she couldn't have was _him_. The reason everything was so impossible was because she wanted _him_ and she couldn't have _him_ for some reason.

He realized then that Casey was in love with Derek. He also understood that she had been throwing herself at him because Derek had hurt her and it probably seemed like a good idea to her while she was drunk, to hook up with him, or anyone for that matter.

For some reason, his revelation didn't really seem that strange. He felt oddly calm about it. He quickly came to the conclusion that if he hadn't been so in love with her himself, he probably would have been able to recognize her crush. As for right then, it was completely obvious. She _loved_ him. How blind he had been not to notice before.

"Wow," he said. While he was processing all of his thoughts, Casey had finally gotten the front door unlocked but she was still standing outside with him.

Now that he knew what was going on, he was even more pissed at Derek. He hated that he was hurting Casey and he hated that he was most likely not even aware of the fact that he was hurting her.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked him quietly, breaking through his thoughts.

"Not really," he said and he immediately regretted how harsh his voice sounded. She heard it, though, the iciness in his tone and he watched, painfully, as her eyes welled up with more tears and then, she was crying.

"Oh g-gosh," she stuttered. "I'm so-sorry. I bet you want to go home now and forget this night ever happened, right?"

"Oh no, Casey. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I was just thinking about something. Come here," he commanded and once again she was in his arms and he was comforting her while she cried.

While Casey cried and Noel comforted, a car pulled up to the drive-way and parked. They didn't notice right away; Noel just continued to whisper sweetly into her ear. It was the green Prince.

Derek got out of his car and instantly noticed Vicky passed out on the lawn in front of him. He rolled his eyes but walked over to her nonetheless. He picked her up swiftly without much thought and started to walk up to the house, eventually noticing the two people embracing on the porch in front of the entrance to his home. At the same time that Derek noticed them, Casey and Noel looked over and saw him.

Noel stiffened when he saw Derek and Casey immediately stopped crying, but not from embarrassment. Seeing Derek made her angry.

Derek stopped walking when he got to the bottom of the porch stairs and glared up at Noel.

"What the _hell_ did you do to her?" he asked, and his voice wasn't friendly at all.

Noel's back stiffened at Derek's words and Casey immediately stopped crying.

_How _dare_ he?_ they both thought.

Derek looked back and forth from Casey's tear stained face and red rimmed eyes to Noel's angry face. He didn't understand why Noel was looking at him with hatred in his eyes. He had never really had anything against Noel, he didn't really know him. But for some reason, just seeing him right then gave him to urge to punch him. He had caused Casey pain and he was in for it.

He gently placed Vicky on the rocking bench on the porch and then turned back to the couple. Then, Derek's own expression turned livid.

"I said, what the hell did you do to her?"

Casey spoke up before Noel.

"Oh shut up, Derek, he didn't do anything."

"Then why are you crying?"

"How stupid are you man? I'm _comforting_ her, not pissing her off," said Noel, finally stepping in. "No, that's your job."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly the boys were face to face, Noel a few inches taller but both equally fuming.

"I'm saying that you're a _freaking_ idiot and that you're the one that's making Casey cry!" Noel yelled.

"Noel!" Casey yelled in response, embarrassed by Noel's outburst, his honesty.

"Not me," Noel continued, ignoring her cries. "Never me."

Derek blinked. Casey started to cry again and backed away from both of them. Noel shook his head in disgust.

"Man, I'm done with this place," said Noel. He turned away from Derek to look at Casey. "Is he really worth it?" he asked her, and his voice was soft, it almost sounded like he was pleading with her to say anything but a confirmation.

Casey just turned her face away from both of them and continued to cry. Derek was still standing in the same place, a confused and dazed expression on his face.

"Whatever," said Noel and he started to leave.

Derek's arm came out and prevented him from leaving. Without actually looking at him, his gaze was fixed on Casey even though her face was hidden behind her hair and hands, he handed Noel his keys and barked out a command.

"Take Vicky to Casey's room."

"Excuse me?" said Noel, not immediately registering that he was being told to do something.

"Now," was all Derek said.

Noel stared at him in disbelief. He was about to say, "Hell no," but then he looked at Casey, standing there, a complete mess and all because she was in love with some idiot. He knew he should leave them be, give them a chance to figure things out, but he didn't want them to figure things out. He still wanted Casey.

Still, he nodded, even though Derek was still looking at Casey and wouldn't be able to see.

"Fine," he said. He walked over to where Vicky was stilled passed out on the swing and picked her up grudgingly, then after unlocking the door; he was gone, leaving Derek and Casey alone on the front porch, to deal with their many problems.

Once they were completely alone, Derek took a quick step towards Casey and looked at her questioningly. She was still covering her face with her hands and he gently placed his over 

hers, trying to get her to look at him. She resisted at first, but then her hands came loose in his and they were looking at one another, both silent, minus the sniffles on her part.

His hands kept hers clasped in his and his mind was racing. He kept hearing the gist of Noel's words in his head: "You're a _freaking_ idiot. You're the one hurting her."

"Is it true?" he finally asked her. She didn't answer but he knew she understood what his question was.

He decided to try something out. If she felt the same way as he did, then it would be okay for him to do this.

He let go of her hands, and right when he did Casey felt like she had lost something, but then he held out his arms in a way that showed he was offering himself to her, if she wanted him. He was offering to her the hug she had always wanted from him, and embrace he had always been too scared to give, for fear that he might hold on to her too tight, that it may last too long, that she would notice and that she may never want to touch him again. Tonight, though, he was willing and he hoped she would accept.

He waited in agony for a full thirty seconds, his arms empty and outstretched in front of him, waiting for her to take the next step, to take just one step forwards, one small step and she would be in his arms. After those thirty seconds, he heard her hiccup and then she moved; one step. Her crying completely stopped when her head touched his chest she and she actually sighed in content. Derek just held her close and smiled into her hair.

Then, he pulled away slightly and looked down into her face. There were still tears on her cheeks and under her eyes so he wiped them away tenderly with his thumbs. His lips placed a kiss on her head moments later and this action finally caused Casey to speak up. She pulled her head away from him and looked up at his face.

"What are you doing?" she asked breathily and then…waited. She gazed into his beautiful brown eyes and then said, "Never mind, don't answer that."

Then she _smacked_ him.

Derek blinked and cocked his head to the side, extremely baffled.

Casey stepped away from him and crossed her arms at her chest.

"I don't understand you!"

"What don't you understand?"

"Anything!"

"Well what do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"_Everything_?!" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, everything!" she responded.

"Why are you yelling?"

"When do I not yell around you?"

She had him there.

"Casey, what do you want me to say? What do you want me to do? Just tell me, say the words and I'll say it, _do_ it."

"Oh, no you don't. You are not putting this on me. I am not going to be tricked into saying something stupid. Nope, no thank you."

"Case, I'm not joking around."

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't believe you. And, maybe I've had enough of this for tonight. Maybe I've had enough of _this_, whatever this is, for forever. Clearly I've lost my head. I have no idea why I'm even still out here talking to you. I honestly don't know what I was thinking, what I was _expecting_ to happen."

And then she turned away. She shuffled to the front door and reached for the doorknob.

"Casey!"

The sound of Derek's voice practically echoed in the night as he basically growled her name. He reached for her wrist as he did so and prevented her from opening the door once again.

"Let go of me! Why do people keep thinking they can just push me aro—" She didn't get to finish the word. Derek was finally using his own brain, finally making a gesture, finally taking control, and in a way that Casey could honestly not complain about. He was kissing her.

That first kiss lasted about ten seconds and then he pulled away and looked at her face. He eyes were so wide and such a deep dark blue that he almost forgot that she hadn't pulled away from him and had even kissed him back. Then he remembered and quickly ducked towards her again and started to kiss her once more, placing three short kisses on her lips and then moving his hands to her hair and pulling her closer to him to deepen the kiss. When he did this she immediately put her hands around his neck and clung onto him tightly, pressing her body as close to his as she could manage.

Inside the house, Noel was just then walking down the stairs. He noticed that Derek and Casey hadn't come inside yet so instead of walking straight to the door, he walked over to the window on the right side of it and inconspicuously took a look outside.

What he saw broke his heart into even more pieces than it already was. He expected it, sure, but it was still hard to see. The girl he was in love with was wrapped up in the tightest most heated embrace he had ever had the displeasure of seeing in real life, with another guy.

He knew now that she had always wanted Derek and that he in turn had always wanted Casey. And now they were together. Finally.

He cringed at the thought, but knew it was true.

Not wanting to disturb their little tryst but also not wanting to see any more of it, he made himself turn around and walk to the back of the house, through the kitchen and out the back entrance.

He felt utterly defeated. His shoulders were slumped downwards as he dragged himself to his car. He had to force himself not to look at them as he walked quietly past them on the driveway.

He knew that the kisses she had given him earlier meant absolutely nothing to her, but as he strolled on by, just knowing that they were there kissing passionately made him think of how he had moments before been kissing her passionately himself. He felt yet another stab to his heart with these thoughts.

When he got to his car, he accidently looked up at the house and he could just barely tell that they were still out there. He looked away a second later and his thoughts began to wander again.

He was certain of one thing. Casey and Derek would be inseparable from now on. He understood that it had taken them years to "find" each other and now that everything was out in the open, at least to themselves, they would fight to stay together.

He knew had to get over her. That was it. He just had to get over her. There was nothing else to consider. It hurt, but that was life.

The third thing he thought of before he started his car was that Casey and Derek were meant for each other, that much was obvious. It pained him to think it and he didn't necessarily choose to think it, but the thought was there, just swimming around at the top of his head. Casey and Derek were a perfect fit.

He pulled away cursing at himself for being such an idiot for not noticing sooner and preventing himself from getting so entangled in his feelings for her. But he couldn't help it. There was nothing he could do about it now. He just had to go on with his life.

FIN

A/N: Hey peeps. Please let me know what you really think about this. Was it too angsty towards the end? I feel like maybe the Casey and Derek get-together scene wasn't as climactic as it could have been, but then again, this was originally supposed to ALL just be from Noel's perspective…and as you can tell, that didn't really happen, ha. So…review please! I'm done babbling now!


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